PM discuss Karachi operation with Army Chief

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday at Prime Minister House, during which the on-going Rangers operation against criminal elements in Karachi and other affairs related to Sindh province were discussed.

Matters related to internal security and the paramilitary forces’ operation against suspected terrorists in Sindh also came under discussion.

General Raheel and Premier Nawaz Sharif agreed to continue the Karachi operation till elimination of the last criminal in the city and not to accept any pressure in this regard.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated his government’s stance of owning the operation in the mega city which he termed entirely ‘apolitical’ and ‘indiscriminate’.

The army chief and prime minister also agreed that the financial base of miscreants will be destroyed to free the country’s economic hub from the clutches of terrorists and supporters of anti-state elements.

According to the sources, the army chief also apprised the premier of the progress made so far in operation Zarb-i-Azb against militants in North Waziristan tribal region, which entered its last phase last month with the launch of a ground offensive in Shawal Valley.

Gen Raheel Sharif also discussed the security situation at the Line of Control (LoC), Working Boundary and the western boundary of Pakistan with the prime minister.

At least eight people were killed on Friday in villages along the Working Boundary in the bloodiest ceasefire violations by India this year.

Army Chief Gen Raheel, who had dashed to Sialkot after the incident, said Indians had “crossed all limits to terrorise Pakistan’s civilian population disregarding international conventions and norms”.

Decrying the attacks on civilian population as a “cowardly act”, the army chief said there was “definite linkage between terrorism being sponsored by India in various parts of Pakistan and belligerence along LoC and WB”.

Military operation Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the Pakistan Army on June 15 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.

More than a million people have fled the offensive in North Waziristan, which is aimed at wiping out longstanding militant strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan.